The Rookies (film)
|gross = $206.4 million }}The Rookies is a 2005 American action crime-thriller film directed by John Stockwell, and produced by Neal H. Moritz. It is based on the 1972-76 television series of the same name created by Rita Lakin, and a spin-off film to 2003 s S.W.A.T.. The film stars Paul Walker, Bruce Willis, Chris O'Donnell, Eugena Washington, Scott Caan, Angie Stevenson, Matt Damon, Robert Clark, Leola Bell, Pete Dickson, Josh Brolin, Joseph Mazzello, and Lauren Elise. The Rookies was released in the United States on September 30, 2005. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $206 million worldwide. Plot A sea plane flying on a stormy night malfunctions and crashes in the sea off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean near California. Officer Terry Webster (Paul Walker), a former U.S. Navy SEAL and hot-shot cop from the San Francisco Police Department and his partner and close friend Dominic Grimes (Matt Damon) respond to a hostage situation. Grimes disobeys an order to hold their position and engages the holders, accidentally wounding a hostage in the process. Both are placed on suspension after disobeying orders by Captain Rayman (Tim Daily). Grimes quits the force after a fight with Rayman and Webster continues with his suspension. He refuses to sell Grimes out in exchange for a chance to return to field duty. During his suspension, he helps out with friend and medic Jill Danko (Angie Stevenson). Five months after the incident, the chief of police calls on Lieutenant Ed Ryder (Bruce Willis), a former Marine Force Recon Sergeant who fought in Vietnam along side Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, to run a special state police task force in order to help re-organize the Division. Ryker puts together a diverse team, including Webster, Mike Danko (Chris O'Donnell), Jill's brother, Wilma "Willie" Gillis (Eugena Washington), and Chris Owens (Scott Caan). The team members train together, eventually forging bonds of friendship, which results in their first investigation being a success. While snorkeling, Webster's brother Brian (Brandon Jones) finds artifacts on the sea bed that seem to stem from a ship wreck. Brian and his friends; Jared Cole (Pete Dickson), Cal Davis (Joseph Mazzello), Brianna Nora (Lauren Elise), Samantha "Sam" Nicholson (Leola Bell), and Amanda Collins (Lela Star) investigate and find several other pieces that turn out to be the remains of legendary French pirate ship Zephyr. They also discover the crashed plane and its cargo of cocaine—Cal and Brianna want to recover it, but Brian refuses, dispersing the brick they retrieved into the ocean. Brian plans to inform Ryker of the plane and the cocaine, but Brian, Jared, Cal, and Brianna are threatened by Reyes, who demands that they retrieve his cocaine or face deadly consequences. However, after nightfall, both Reyes and local night club owner Primo, who turns out to be an associate of drug lord Reyes, to whom the cocaine belonged in the first place, are arrested while they dive at the plane wreck to salvage the cocaine with Brian, Jared, Cal and Brianna. But as Reyes is being transferred to prison, his associates, dressed as MDPD officers, attempt to rescue him as he rides the Miami County Sheriff's Department bus. The task force arrives in time to kill the three gunmen and recapture Reyes. Officer Roy, a local cop, kidnaps Brian and turns him over to Derek Bates and Grimes, knowing that they was Reyes' partner in the cocaine deal. The task force is betrayed by Owens, who had been working with Grimes and Bates. Owens and Grimes free Reyes and flee to Reyes ship, where they find that Bates has killed his entire crew, eventually killing Reyes, Primo and Roy as well. Webster learns of Brian s captivity, and he and the task force set out to rescue him from Bates ship, now anchored over the cocaine plane. Brian is handcuffed and gagged with duct tape. They kill Bates divers at the plane, while Ryker fights and kills Bates. Owens dispatches the men on Bates boat and commits suicide. Returning to the city, Webster pursues Grimes and unintentionally kills him by knocking him into a boat s propeller. Six weeks later, the trio is salvaging the Zephyr. While trying to bring an old cannon to the surface, the rope breaks and the cannon sinks back down breaking a part of the ship. Brian is ready to call it a night, but Jared dives in again and shouts that he has found gold. On the way home to SFPD headquarters, a report of a holdup in progress comes over the police radio and despite the team being an officer down, Ryker, Webster, Danko, and Gillis decide to help anyway. Cast *Paul Walker as Officer Terry Webster *Bruce Willis as Lieutenant Ed Ryker *Chris O'Donnell as Officer Mike Danko *Eugena Washington as Officer Wilma "Willie" Gillis *Scott Caan as Officer Chris Owens *Angie Stevenson as Jill Danko *Matt Damon as Dominic Grimes *Robert Clark as Brian Webster *Leola Bell as Samantha "Sam" Nicholson *Pete Dickson as Jared Cole *Josh Brolin as Derek Bates *Joseph Mazzello as Cal Davis *Lauren Elise as Brianna Nora *James Frain as Reyes *Tyson Beckford as Primo *Tim Daly as Captain John Rayman *Dwayne Adway as Roy *Javon Frazer as Danny *Mercedes Carrera as Amanda Collins Production Neal H. Mortiz started developing the film in 2003 after the release of S.W.A.T.. Writers Andrew C. Erin and Alan Mruvka came onboard to write the story while John Stockwell came on board to direct. Matt Johnson provided additional writing for the screenplay. The film's production budget cost around $51 million. Filming began in August 2004. Release The Rookies was released on September 30, 2005. Home media The Rookies was released on DVD on December 26, 2005 and on Blu-Ray on August 15, 2006. Reception Box office The Rookies drew in $18 million while playing in 3,211 theaters, with a $11,574 average per theatre on it's Friday opening. The film grossed $38,062,535 on it's opening weekend and peaked at #1, dethroning previous holder Flightplan.Weekend Box Office: September 30-October 2, 2005. Box Office Mojo. The biggest market in other territories were Japan, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany, where the film grossed $16.9 million, $9.7 million, $7.1 million, $6.47 million respectively. At the end of its box office run, The Rookies grossed $105,134,650 in North America and $101,300,000 in other territories, resulting in $206,434,650 worldwide gross. Critical reception Reception for the movie was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a "Rotten" rating of 54%, based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus reads, "A competent, but routine police thriller." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".Metacritic (The Rookies) Accolades Soundtracks Original Soundtrack The Rookies Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film. It was released on September 23, 2005, one week before the film's release. Track listing #"Good Old Days" – Ziggy Marley #"I Will" – Holly Palmer #"Bruce" - Hot Action Cop #"I'll Be" – O S Xperience References Category:2005 films Category:PG-13 rated films Category:Films based on TV Shows Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films